Craft Fair Checklist

Since all I'm working on this week is organizing my art room I decided that this week's blog post will be different than my usual Working It Wednesday. Instead I'm going to share my craft fair checklist. It's a master list of must have items for vendors at a craft fair. Why a list? Well, because I like lists. And because when I was brand new to the whole craft fair thing I found several similar lists on Pinterest and they were quite helpful. Often times the days leading up to an even t can be so hectic and stressful that lists like this come in super handy the night before an event when your brain is just dead with exhaustion. So here's my personal list of must have items at a craft fair:

-Cash (Broken into a variety of small bills)
-Card Reader
-Phone
-Phone Charger
-Pens/Pencils
-Sharpie marker
-Notepad/paper
-A book (This gives you something to do while you wait for the crowds to roll in)
-Scotch tape
-Duct Tape
-Paperclips
-Rubberbands
-Binder clips
-Glue Dots
-Trash bags
-Pop up laundry hamper (Use as a trash can hidden underneath a table)
-Wet wipes
-Windex wipes
-Paper towels
-Kleenex
-Advil
-Bandaids
-Gum/Mints
-Water (Occasionally I'll bring a cooler with sodas too)
-Snacks (You do not want to blow all your $ on concessions)
-Business cards
-Bug spray (If an outdoor event)
-Sunscreen (If an outdoor event)
-Small portable fan (I got a great battery powered one from Walmart for $6)
-Inventory
-Display props
-Tables
-Chairs (The camping kind are great, especially if they have cupholders)
-Tissue paper/bubble wrap
-Bags (I bring a variety of sizes)
-Folding dolly/handcart

And that's my list of must have items. Every artist/crafter will have their own version of this list. It took several shows before I felt I'd created the best list for me. If you're new to craft fairs and wondering what would be best for you, I'd suggest browsing Pinterest and reading as many lists as you can, pulling out what applies to you and soon enough you'll find that you have your own list. I have a board on my Pinterest page where I've pinned tons of great articles and lists and tips for craft fairs. You can visit it here: https://www.pinterest.com/starrygirlb/etsy-and-craft-fair-tips/
It's a Pinterest board that I still pin to fairly often so feel free to follow it.

Working It Wednesday: After the show

Last Friday and Saturday was the Bartlett Hills Baptist Church Annual Craft Fair and it went really well. This was my first experience with a 2-day show and I think I like them better than single day shows. I also was allowed to set up tables the night before which I loved since it gave me a chance to see the space I'd been assigned and decide on my layout. Plus the added benefit of having one less thing to unload and set up on that Friday morning. I lucked out and got a corner space for this event and was able to try a new layout that pulled traffic through the booth rather than around it. My next event already notified me and told me that I've gotten a corner booth so I plan to use pretty much the same layout again.

As expected, my Nativity sets sold the best, followed by my gift tags. I did sell two canvas paintings as well but this event was much more geared towards holiday shopping than art shopping. I did not sell individual painted rocks at this event like I usually would've. It can get confusing when I sell the individual rocks and sets of rocks at the same event. People never seem to understand the difference and it just complicates things. Since I knew I wanted to sell the Nativity sets at this event, I opted out of the individual rocks and did a semi-mass production of some of my best selling sets. I stained wooden trays to display samples of each set on and then behind each tray I had a basket with pre-bagged sets of that sample. It actually worked well this way and I will continue to use this method of setup/display going forward. In fact, several of the customers who purchased sets of story stones actually asked if I sold the wooden trays that I was using as a display. Based off that, I've purchased a few more trays and plan to stain them and sell them alongside my Nativity sets at my next show. They're just simple, unfinished wooden trays from Michael's that I stained to match my other display props but they do look nice. If they do end up selling, I'll likely continue to make them. We shall see.

I've got two more craft fairs this year and I'm currently working to replenish my stock. I painted more Nativity sets and I'm about to make more gift tags. I bought some new holiday rubber stampers so I can offer a bigger variety of gift tags. With Christmas only being 9 weeks away I figure these will be a good seller and at only $1 each they'll make a good alternative to my $1 rocks that I usually sell. Awhile back someone told me to always offer something at a cheap price point when I do shows and so far, that's proven to be great advice. Those little dollars here and there do add up pretty quickly!

I have started to receive notifications of events accepting applications for 2017 fairs but haven't yet signed up for any. I'd like to do more than I did this year but want to be sure I take my experiences and make wise decisions on which events are right for me. I definetly seem to do better with smaller school and church hosted fairs than massive community hosted events so I'll be giving those priority. I'll keep you posted here as I start scheduling those events.

Working It Wednesday: Instagram Giveaway

This week I've got a lot of small projects going, most of which aren't all that exciting. Fun, but just not anything you all haven't heard about before. Rock painting, booth planning, and so on. But the one thing that is exciting is that I'm currently hosting my very first Instagram giveaway! Several of my Etsy friends have done them and I've always liked them so I decided it was time to participate and host my own.

The giveaway is a set of my Nativity Story Stones. It began on Monday and runs through 10/7/16 at 8pm CST. Complete contest rules can be found on my Instagram page (@Wishesandwonderment) 

If you haven't entered yet, be sure to hop on over to Instagram and check it out!